“Lieutenant,” Shar said, hoping he looked authoritative, but respectful; he strove to avoid the just-beneath-the-surface insolence that his zhaveyaccused him of when he was determined to make his point. Insincerity would not help his case with Dax. “I have a request.”
Without interrupting her breakfast, she mumbled something about his continuing, put down her pastry, made a notation in her padd, and returned to her eating.
Maybe while she’s distracted, she might agree without thinking too hard about it…“Sir, while I agree that an understanding of historical and social precedents provides context for your work with the committees, I think we’re neglecting a critical area of research.”
“Go on.” She dabbed at the corners of her mouth.
“The Yrythny conflict is based on the supposition that the Wanderers are biologically inferior to the Houseborn,” Shar struggled to keep the excitement out of his voice. “But what if the Houseborn supposition is wrong and we can prove it scientifically?”
“That the inequities between Houseborn and Wanderer biological programming are perceived, rather than actual? My guess is that it’s mostly perception,” Ezri agreed, throwing her legs out in front of her. “At least I haven’t noticed much difference between the groups I’ve been working with. I think they’ve built a complex social culture of castes and customs based on suppositions and preconceptions, regardless of any basis in actual fact.” Dax wadded up her paper refuse and held it in her fist. Looking at Shar, she smiled indulgently. “Perception is nine-tenths of reality, and in the perceptions of the Houseborn, the Wanderers are inferior. I doubt scientific proof would change that perception. Besides, sometimes even the most absurd traditions and customs evolve as a way to preserve a species or protect a planet.”
Shar agreed with Ezri in principle, though he didn’t say so. Over the years, he’d learned from Charivretha how the seemingly illogical customs of many worlds had legitimate roots. For example, many religious dietary codes emerged from pragmatic realities. How avoiding a forbidden food because it would make one “un-holy” before the divinity sounded more meaningful than saying it was forbidden because it would make the follower hallucinate, foam at the mouth and die. Still, not all customs and codes were so well intended. Prejudice and fear still allowed for cultures to rationalize bad policy. From his own studies, Shar had discovered that the Wanderers had emerged as the artisans, architects, and scientists among the Yrythny. The Houseborn’s insistence that the Wanderers “lacked proper instincts” wasn’t logical in the face of such clear, measurable evidence of superior intellectual abilities. He was surprised Dax didn’t raise the point herself. “In most circumstances, a species is better protected by developing a quantifiable strategy,” Shar reasoned. “Such as resource management or environmental restoration.”
“Since the Yrythny didn’t evolve naturally, it’s possible that whoever augmented Vanìmel’s primordial soup intended these instincts to play out.” She shrugged. “Maybe there are chromosomal mutations or weaknesses in the helices.”
“Maybe there aren’t,” Shar argued.
“For example,” Ezri went on, “what would happen if every Yrythny were allowed to reproduce? Could the planet sustain that kind of population explosion?”
“It may not,” Shar conceded. “On the other hand, perhaps it can. I’ve seen no evidence that anyone has yet attempted to answer the question. But even if it can’t, science might solve that problem, too.”
Ezri sighed. “Maybe these social customs, as repulsive as they may seem to us, serve a purpose not immediately obvious to the outsider. That’s why examining their history is crucial. Tracing the origins of this social order might help them course-correct. If you pull out a weed without killing the root, the weed will grow back.”
“Yes, sir,” Shar said. He set down his pastry, his appetite withering.
“You should know something of restrictive social customs and how they relate to physiological and biological realities from your own experiences.”
Shar looked away uncomfortably. He knew that over the course of Dax’s eight previous lives, knowledge about Andorians that was unknown to the majority of outsiders had entered into Dax’s purview. How much knowledge and how explicit that knowledge was, he couldn’t say. Shar hadn’t yet probed Ezri’s recollections or allowed her to probe his, but he did know Dax wasn’t speaking carelessly. He considered what she had said for a moment longer before responding. “But it’s my opinion, Lieutenant, after years of studying the interrelationship between sociology and physiology among my people, that it is the rigid structure of our customs that have, in part, landed my species in the predicament it now faces.”
“You’re saying that the Yrythny adherence to a rigid caste system might be leading them to a similar fate as the Andorians?” Lieutenant Dax said, skeptically.
“I am saying I believe we need to ask the scientific questions in addition to the historical and cultural questions.” Shar knew he could prove it to her, given the chance.
Her face softened and she offered him a half-smile. “I don’t disagree with you, Shar. But let’s look at this realistically. To conduct a proper scientific inquiry, you’ll need enough time and cooperative research subjects to create a viable statistical sampling. Otherwise, your conclusions might be specious to the Yrythny.”
“Their universities must have databases—”
“We have finite time. Finagling access those databases could be difficult, especially since the decision to admit me as a mediator was hardly unanimous. Not everyone likes—or trusts—us.”
“Respectfully, sir, I am not questioning your decision to pursue the angles we’ve worked through so far. What I am asking is whether I can tackle some of the scientific questions. I’ll complete everything you assign me and pursue those issues on my own time, if you’d rather.”
She paused, resting her hand against her lips as she studied him. “All right then, Ensign. I can agree to that, but if I believe you’re neglecting my assignments, I’ll ask you to desist.”
“Yes sir.” A fair enough compromise,he thought.
“Any word from Commander Vaughn?”
“Not since yesterday. I know he said that he expected they would reach the Consortium today, but circumstances—”
“I know, Shar.” She gazed up at Luthia’s clear ceiling, starlight refracting through the panels, spraying faint rainbows on volcanic rock facades adorning the surrounding buildings.
Shar knew she worried, though Vaughn hadn’t given her any specific reason to be concerned during his regular check-ins. Shar might not have a lover on Defiantas Ezri did, but after weeks of working closely with his shipmates, he’d grown accustomed to having them around. Not a day had passed without Shar turning to ask Nog for input on what tools might be more effective in his inquiry on Yrythny genetics. Each time he gazed out Luthia’s windows, he wondered how long it would be before Ensign Tenmei persuaded Commander Vaughn to let her try surfing on Vanìmel. He’d also come to know Dr. Bashir on the trip. It had become a private game for Shar to see if he could beat Bashir at anything, be it darts or data recall. So far, Shar had lost every time. The sooner Defiantresumed its journey, the better. On this, Shar and Ezri agreed.
At last, Ezri said, “We should go. I’m sure they’ll be waiting.”
She predicted rightly.
The Aquaria’s excellent acoustics allowed the hollow dissonance arising from the Assembly officers milling about to be heard several streetways down from the entrance. Shar and Ezri descended a flight of coral stairs to discover that not a single empty seat remained in the amphitheater. She climbed back up the stairs where she could view the gathering.